Russia is ready to share with the Egyptian Armed Forces the experience that it gained when fighting terrorism in Syria, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th August, 2018) Russia is ready to share with the Egyptian Armed Forces the experience that it gained when fighting terrorism in Syria, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday.
"As our Aerospace Forces' experience in Syria proves, special training of the troops, high-quality equipment, and application of the most modern methods of combat are necessary. We are ready to share this experience," Shoigu said at a meeting of the Joint Russian-Egyptian commission on defense industry cooperation.
Shoigu added that Russia hailed the Egyptian authorities' efforts in fighting international terrorism and stabilizing the situation on the Sinai peninsula.
In 2014, Sinai's indigenous militants pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, outlawed in Russia). The Wilayat Sinai, the IS branch on the peninsula, has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly attacks in the area. The Egyptian Armed Forces have been engaged in the anti-terror operation in Sinai since February.
"We are interested in Cairo's leadership in the issues of enhancing regional security and stability in the north of Africa," Shoigu said, adding that Egypt remains Russia's key partner in Northern Africa and the middle East.
According to the minister, the development of military and defense industry cooperation between the two countries is essential for increasing the armies' combat capabilities.
"We believe that in the current settings, the armed forces and the law enforcement agencies play a key role in the terror threat fight. For the sake of increasing their combat capabilities, we are willing to actively develop the Russian-Egyptian military and defense industry cooperation," Shoigu said.
His Egyptian counterpart Mohamed Ahmed Zaki Mohamed said that the cooperation was based on many aspects, including the historic ties, the "solid relations" between the two countries' leaders, and the shared stance on the challenges that affect security and stability in the region.
Mohamed thanked Shoigu for inviting the Egyptian delegation to take part in the commission's meeting and for the positive results of the bilateral cooperation.
